ver the last decade, we’ve seen remarkable changes in how people utilize search. It’s now ubiquitous to hear someone say “I don’t know – I’ll Google it.” There have also been big algorithm changes in how the engines crawl, index, and rank pages. Search results are getting better all the time and its use is continuing to grow. With search results ever increasing and use continually growing, business owners are understanding the importance of their Google rank.

In spite of these monumental shifts, a shocking amount of misinformation about the practice of SEO persists. Let’s set the record straight and take a closer look at a few myths you can leave behind.

Myth #1   “A low bounce rate is good for SEO rank”

A low bounce rate is often a good sign but not for rank. Low bounce tells you if a visitor is sticking around – reading your stuff, getting engaged with your content and so the assumption is that they are finding your site interesting – hopefully converting into a prospect of some sort for you. So that is a good thing to be concerned about. The myth is that a low bounce rate improves SEO rank. It does not. You can find quotes all over the Internet from the most respected SEO experts that say the same thing. Bounce rate is not a variable in the algorithm – and may never be a variable. The search engines don’t recognize this behavior as necessarily good or bad.  Do not be swayed by someone telling you this is a factor.
Myth #2      “My homepage needs a lot of content”

Have you ever come across a homepage that is either littered with website content or the opposite, no content at all? Your website is your storefront.  You only have one chance to create a first impression. Your content should be long enough to clarify who you are, what you do, where you are located, and where your visitors should go next. Your visitors should leave satisfied and wanting more – or better, asking for you to contact them!

Myth #3     “On-page SEO is all I need to rank”

Google is no longer trying to exact-match the keywords you type into the search engine to the keywords found on a page of a website.  Instead, it is trying to understand the reasoning and intent behind the entered keywords. Google wants to better understand the user intent so it can match suggestions of relevant, high-quality content. Search engines, moving forward, are not going to punish for underusing keywords or failing to have a keyword-optimized page. That being said, remember…Google will punish for overusing keywords or keyword stuffing. Have a nice natural balance and your website rank will rise!

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